Binary addressable magnetically multiplex discharge manipulation system for multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel

ABSTRACT

A binary addressable magnetically multiplexed system for selectively supplying discharge conditioning and discharge manipulating pulse potentials to row-column conductor pairs of a multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel having a rowcolumn conductor display/memory matrix wherein the conductors are non-conductively coupled to the gaseous medium in the panel. The panel discharge manipulation system is characterized by plurality of transformers, preferably of the printed circuit type wherein all of the windings of a set are printed on flexible board sheets and are the primary and secondary windings are layered. The transformers for selected groups of the row and column conductors, respectively are thereby magnetically coupled to multiple secondary windings which are electrically connected to the row and column conductors in the panel matrix. The system is further characterized by means for pulsing the primary windings including binary logic circuit means and means for selectively energizing select ones of the primary windings and their multiple secondary windings.

United States Patent Schmersal et al. [45] May 23, 1972 [54] BINARY ADDRESSABLE MAGNETTCALLY MULTIPLEX Primry Examiner.lohn w. Caldwell DISCHARGE MANIPULATION SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE GASEOUS DISCHARGE DISPLAY/ MEMORY PANEL Larry J. Scltmersnl; Joseph L. Miavecz; Edward W. Pierce; David S. Wojcik, all of Toledo, Ohio Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Sept. 1, 1970 Inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS SHORTING Assistant ExaminerMarshall M. Curtis Attorney-D. K. Wedding and E. J. Holler [57] ABSTRACT A binary addressable magnetically multiplexed system for selectively supplying discharge conditioning and discharge manipulating pulse potentials to row-column conductor pairs of a multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel having a row-column conductor display/memory matrix wherein the conductors are non-conductively coupled to the gaseous medium in the panel. The panel discharge manipulation system is characterized by plurality of transformers, preferably of the printed circuit type wherein all of the windings of a set are printed on flexible board sheets and are the primary and secondary windings are layered. The transformers for selected groups of the row and column conductors, respectively are thereby magnetically coupled to multiple secondary windings which are electrically connected to the row and column conductors in the panel matrix. The system is further characterized by means for pulsing the primary windinp including binary logic circuit means and means for selectively energizing select ones of the primary windings and their multiple secondary windings.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SHORTING SWITCH 8 SHORTING WINDINGS 6 GASEOUS DISCHARGE PANEL 1 PATENTEDMM 23 I972 SHEET 1 OF 3 v wESE 2238 \F QM EaAM/N INVENTORS LARRY J. SCHMERSAL JOSEPH L. MIAVECZ EDWARD w. PIERCE DAVID s. WOJCIK BY fl wa J 2/ flwr A m 5:3 QEEQE ATTORNEYS PATENTEDMAYZB I97? 3, 665.455

SHEET 2 OF 3 H6 2 PULSER POWER mum PULSER QIBQIHT SUPPLY LR4 Q 2 5 0 c 3 LOGIC s ourpur INPUT R2 g SUSTAINER POWER TSUPPLY F RI Q2 5 15mm cmcun PATENTEnmza m2 8, 665,455

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ES BINARY ADDRESSABLE MAGNETICALLY MULTIPLEX DISCHARGE MANIPULATION SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE GASEOUS DISCHARGE DISPLAY/MEMORY PANEL The panel has an electrical memory, is capable of producing a visual display, and is characterized by an ionizable gaseous medium in a gas chamber formed by a pair of opposed dielectric material charge storage members which are respectively backed by a series of parallel-like conductor (electrode) members, the conductor members behind each dielectric material member being transversely oriented with respect to the conductor members behind the opposing dielectric material number so as to form row-column conductor pairs and thereby define a plurality of discrete discharge volumes constituting a discharge unit.

The panel discharge manipulation system is characterized by a plurality of transformer means for selected groups of the row and column conductors respectively, the transformer means having' primary windings magnetically coupled to multiple secondary windings electrically connected to the row and column conductors in the panel matrix. The system is further characterized by means for pulsing the primary windings including logic circuit means and means for selectively energizing selected ones of the secondary windings with a source of logic controlled sustainer potential.

THE INVENTION This invention relates to novel multiple gas discharge display/memory panels'which have an electrical memory and which are capable of producing a visual display or representation of data such as numerals, letters, television display, radar displays, binary words, etc.

More particularly, this invention relates to means for providing operating voltages to a gaseous discharge panel. As used herein, voltage is defined as any voltage required for operation of the panel including firing and sustaining voltages as well as any other voltages for manipulation of the discharge.

Multiple gas discharge display and/or memory panels of the type with which the present invention is concerned are characterized by an ionizable gaseous medium, usually a mixture of at least two gases at an appropriate gas pressure, in a thin gas chamber or space between a pair of opposed dielectric charge storage members which are backed by conductor (electrode) members, the conductor members backing each dielectric member being transversely oriented to define a plurality of discrete discharge volumes and constituting a discharge unit. In some prior art panels the discharge units are additionally defined by surrounding or confining physical structure such as by cells or apertures in perforated glass plates and the like so as to be physically isolated relative to other units. In either case, with or without the confining physical structure, charges (electrons, ions) produced upon ionization of the gas of a selected discharge unit, when proper alternating operating potentials are applied to selected conductors thereof, are collected upon the surfaces of the dielectric at specifically defined locations and constitute an electrical field opposing the electrical field which created them so as to terminate the discharge for the remainder of the half cycle and aid in the initiation of a discharge on a succeeding opposite half cycle of applied voltage, such charges as are stored constituting an electrical memory.

Thus, the dielectric layers prevent the passage of any conductive current from the conductor members to the gaseous medium and also serve as collecting surfaces for ionized gaseous medium charges (electrons, ions) during the alternate half cycles of the AC operating potentials, such charges collecting first on one elemental or discrete dielectric surface area and then on an opposing elemental or discrete dielectric surface area on alternate half cycles to constitute an electrical memory.

An example of a panel structure containing non-physically isolated or open discharge units is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,499, l 67 issued to Theodore C. Baker et al.

An example of a panel containing physically isolated units is disclosed in the article by D. L. Bitzer and H. G. Slottow entitled The Plasma Display Panel A Digitally Addressable Display With Inherent Memory, Proceeding of the Fall Joint Computer Conference, IEEE, San Francisco, Cal, Nov. 1966, pages 541-547.

In the operation of the panel, a continuous volume of ionizable gas is confined between a pair of photoemlssive dielectric surfaces backed by conductor arrays forming matrix elements. The cross conductor arrays may be orthogonally related (but any other configuration of conductor arrays may be used) to define a plurality of opposed pairs of charge storage areas on the surfaces of the dielectric bounding or confining gas. Thus, for a conductor matrix having R rows and C columns of conductors, the number of elemental discharge volumes will be the product of R X C and the number of elemental or discrete areas will be twice the number of elemental discharge volumes.

The gas is one which produces light (if visual display is an objective) and a copious supply of charges (ions and electrons) during discharge. In an open cell Baker, et al type panel, the gas pressure and the electric field are sufficient to laterally confine charges generated on discharge within elemental or discrete volumes of gas between opposed pairs of elemental or discrete dielectric areas within the perimeter of such areas, especially in a panel containing non-isolated units.

As described in the Baker et a1 patent, the space between the dielectric surfaces occupied by the gas is such as to permit photons generated on discharge in a selected discrete or elemental volume of gas to pass freely through the gas space and strike surface areas of dielectric remote from the selected discrete volumes, such remote, photon struck dielectric surface areas thereby emitting electrons so as to condition other and more remote elemental volumes for discharges at a uniform applied potential.

With respect to the memory function of a given discharge panel, the allowable distance or spacing between the dielectric surfaces depends, inter alia, on the frequency of the alternating current supply, the distance typically being greater for lower frequencies.

While the prior art does disclose gaseous discharge devices having externally positioned electrodes for initiating a gaseous discharge, sometimes called electroless discharges, such prior art devices utilize frequencies and spacings or discharge volumes and operating pressures such that although discharges are initiated in the gaseous medium, such discharges are ineffective or not utilized for charge generation and storage in the manner of the present invention.

The term memory margin is defined herein as where V, is the magnitude of the applied voltage at which a discharge is initiated in'a discrete conditioned (as explained in the aforementioned Baker, et al patent) volume of gas defined by common areas of overlapping conductors and V, is the magnitude of the minimum applied periodic alternating voltage sufficient to sustain discharges once initiated. It will be un' derstood that basic electrical phenomena utilized in this invention is the generation of charges (ions and electrons) alternately storable at pairs of opposed or facing discrete points or areas on a pair of dielectric surfaces backed by conductors connected to a source of operating potential. Such stored charges result in an electrical field opposing the field produced by the applied potential that created them and hence operate to terminate ionization in the elemental gas volume between opposed or facing discrete points or areas of dielectric surface. The term sustain a discharge means producing a sequence of momentary discharges, one discharge for each half cycle of applied alternating sustaining voltage, once the elemental gas volume has been fired, to maintain alternate storing of charges at pairs of opposed discrete areas on the dielectric surfaces.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a binary addressable magnetically multiplex system for selectively supply discharge conditioning and manipulation potentials to row-column conductor electrode pairs of a multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel.

More particularly, there is provided a system for manipulating panel operating voltages, which system comprises a plurality of transformer means for selected groups of the panel row and column conductors respectively, the transformer means comprising primary windings magnetically coupled to multiple secondary windings connected to the row and column conductors in the panel matrix, and means for pulsing the primary windings including logic circuit means and means for selectively controlling sources of sustainer potential so as to selectively energize the output from the transformer secondaries.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings and the figures thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a gas discharge display panel incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the column pulser circuit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a sustainer circuit as used in the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a planar matrix array of printed circuit transformer primary windings as used in the invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a planar matrix of printed circuit secondary windings.

In FIG. 1, there is illustrated a gaseous discharge panel 1 of the Baker et al type having column conductor electrodes X and row-conductor electrodes Y, the X and Y electrodes intersecting to form 64 elemental discharge volumes and 128 charge storage areas.

The Y electrodes are connected to sustainer voltage sources 2 by transformer secondaries 5,, S S S and S S S 5,. Although not shown in FIG. I, all of the primary and secondary windings are appropriately stacked, e.g., are layered over the secondaries 8,, S S 8,. It is contemplated that additionally stacked or layered secondary series S", 5", etc., may also be utilized.

In a similar manner the X electrodes are connected to sustainer voltage sources 3 by stacked transformer secondaries S S S S and S S S S Likewise, the primary windings are also layered.

Within a specific primary layer the windings are arranged in a rectangular planar matrix array, e.g. within the primary layer shown in FIG. 1 similar terminal of all primary windings are electrically connected together by column conductors C. The other terminals of such windings are electrically connected to row conductors R.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which comprises a specific primary planar matrix array of 16 transformer primary windings of two column conductors C and 8 row conductors R. FIG. 5 illustrates a planar matrix of secondary windings for driving 32 panel electrodes layered and magnetically coupled with respect to the primary windings ofFlG. 4.

Both the Y and X electrodes are provided with transformer primaries P P P P, and P P P P which are respectively connected to column pulsers 4 and 5. Likewise, the Y and X electrodes are provided with shorting windings 6 and 7 and shorting switches 8 and 9.

In the operation of the panel 1 of FIG. 1, specific primary windings are magnetically coupled to specific secondary windings, e.g. P 2,, S and S comprise one complete transformer. Other transformers include P 2 S 8,; P 2,, S S

The purpose of the shorting windings 6, 7 and the shorting switches 8, 9 is to reduce the actual impedance of all transformer secondaries when the panel is not being addressed. This is necessary to prevent the creation of undesirable voltage drops across the secondaries due to discharge current delivered from the sustainers through the secondaries to the conductors X, Y. I

In panel operation the necessary discharge manipulation potentials are produced by selectively controlling sustainer voltage sources and generation of a voltage pulse in a selected primary. This mixing of sustainer potential and resulting secondary potential provides the necessary voltage for control and address of the panel electrode conductors X, Y.

Selection of the appropriate primaries is accomplished by selecting column voltage sources pulsers 4, 5 via column conductors C and by selecting transistor row switches (not numbered in FIG. 1) via row conductors R.

In FIG. 1 there is further shown Y and X electrode conductor axes logic l4 and 15, typically of the binary type, for appropriate control of sustainers, column pulsers, etc. Likewise, there is shown in FIG. 1 a storage and timing logic 16. Although not specifically shown in the drawing, this logic 16 may comprise data storage with shift registers, flip-flops and/or other data processing units as is well known in the art.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, there is illustrated a specific column pulser circuit and sustainer circuit, respectively, for use in the practice of this invention, such as described in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5 hereinbefore.

In one highly preferred embodiment of this invention, all transformers are comprised of and made from printed circuits, e.g., on flexible sheets of board material, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Also in one highly preferred practice of this invention bulk erase" of the panel is accomplished by the omitting of one sustaining cycle from either, but not both, of the sustainers.

Although this invention has been specifically described and illustrated hereinbefore with reference to certain specific embodiments and practices, it is not intended that the invention be so limited except as defined by the scope of the claims hereinafter.

We claim:

1. A binary addressable magnetically multiplex electronic system for selectively supplying discharge sustaining, conditioning, and manipulation potentials from a plurality of corresponding sources to row-column conductor pairs of a multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel which comprises:

A plurality of transformer means for selected groups of the row and column conductors respectively, each transformer means having its primary winding magnetically coupled to a selected multiple number of secondary windings, each secondary being respectively connected to the row or column conductor, respectively, in the panel matrix,

means including a matrix logic circuit for selectively pulsing the primary windings,

and means for selectively controlling sources of sustainer potential so as to selectively energize the output from the transformer secondary windings.

2. The electronic system of claim 1 wherein the matrix logic circuit means is binary.

3. The electronic system of claim 2 wherein all of the primary and secondary windings are printed on flexible board sheets and are layered.

4. The electronic system of claim 3 wherein shorting windings on said sheets and shorting switches are electrically connected to the secondary windings so as to reduce the actual impedance of such secondary windings. 

1. A binary addressable magnetically multiplex electronic system for selectively supplying discharge sustaining, conditioning, and manipulation potentials from a plurality of corresponding sources to row-column conductor pairs of a multiple gaseous discharge display/memory panel which comprises: A plurality of transformer means for selected groups of the row and column conductors respectively, each transformer means having its primary winding magnetically coupled to a selected multiple number of secondary windings, each secondary being respectively connected to the row or column conductor, respectively, in the panel matrix, means including a matrix logic circuit for selectively pulsing the primary windings, and means for selectively controlling sources of sustainer potential so as to selectively energize the output from the transformer secondary windings.
 2. The electronic system of claim 1 wherein the matrix logic circuit means is binary.
 3. The electronic system of claim 2 wherein all of the primary and secondary windings are printed on flexible board sheets and are layered.
 4. The electronic system of claim 3 wherein shorting windings on said sheets and shorting switches are electrically connected to the secondary windings so as to reduce the actual impedance of such secondary windings. 